Principal Channa Barrett often is asked how her campus, Jacquet Middle School, is doing.
She compares the school, one of the lowest performing schools in Fort Worth ISD, to a ship changing course.
“It’s trying to find its way back around, and we haven’t turned it all the way back just yet. But we are well on our way,” she said.
Barrett is hopeful Fort Worth ISD’s new plan to boost student achievement could get her school and others on the path to success. Administrators presented the new approach to the school board at an Aug. 8 workshop meeting.
“It is a new day in Fort Worth ISD, and a new way of doing business,” Superintendent Angélica Ramsey said.
The district will see a better picture of where it stands academically later in August when the Texas Education Agency releases results from the state standardized test from the spring. In September, schools also expect to receive an A-F rating from the state.
However, administrators are not waiting for the state so they can take action, Associate Superintendent Charles Garcia said. They are using outcomes from 2022 and data from Northwest Evaluation Association tests to guide decisions for the early part of the school year, according to officials.
Garcia described the plan as a rethinking of how Fort Worth ISD monitors students’ progress. Administrators plan to show teachers how they can use testing data to make the best decisions for their students, he said.
“That means accountability with an abrazo, and what I mean by that is accountability with a hug,” Garcia said. “We have to educate, support our folks, but we have to hold people accountable for doing what’s right with kids.”
Schools will receive additional resources and support based on their academic performance. The district now has an internal performance-monitoring system that separates campuses into three buckets:
- The first is for campuses that are doing well and need support to ensure students are growing academically.
- The second is for schools that are doing mostly OK, but need targeted help with some student groups.
- The third is for the lowest-performing schools that need the highest levels of support to boost outcomes.
Associate Superintendent Melissa Kelly told trustees the district’s lowest-performing schools will see more than one teacher in classrooms and educators will receive additional time for lesson planning. Principals also will receive coaching to help them turn around their campuses, she said.
Barrett has started meeting with her coach to drill down into Jacquet Middle School’s achievement data to find how she can best support her students.
Fort Worth ISD now has a sense of urgency to ensure all students are succeeding in academics, Garcia said.
Some schools, like Barrett’s, need an “additional layer of love” because they need to be turned around completely, Garcia said.
Garcia emphasized to trustees they cannot get this wrong because time is valuable. A student is in their grade only once.
Jacquet Middle School is putting its time where its students need it the most: math and reading. All students will receive 90 minutes each of both subjects, Barrett said. Teachers spend the first half meeting students where they’re at academically then spend the remainder showing them skills to analyze problems and overcome them.
“We are ready for our students,” Barrett said. “We are ready to serve them.”
Jacob Sanchez is an enterprise journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
